8 Reasons Marriage Is Better Than the Gym

婚姻有助于身体健康的8大原因

 

The Marriage Benefit 婚姻的益处

“Marriage is sort of like a life preserver or a seat belt,” University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, Ph.D., author of The Case for Marriage, told
The New York Times. “We can put it in exactly the same category as eating a good
diet, getting exercise, and not smoking.”

“婚姻似乎是生命保鲜剂或者安全带。我们可以把它与健康的饮食，适度的运动和不吸烟的习惯相提并论。”，芝加哥大学的社会学家LindaWaite教授，即《婚姻这门学问》的作者这样告诉纽约时报的记者。

Marriage helps health most when couples imitate each others healthy habits.
When Brigham Young University researchers checked up on 4,746 married couples
ages 51 to 61, they found that couples are mirrors when it comes to health
status: A man in his early 50s in excellent health had a very low chance of having a wife in fair or poor health. But if the man’s health was poorer, the chance of his wife being in fair or poor health increased. Why? Couples live in the same environments when it comes to food, exercise, and stress reduction.
They also share emotional stresses.

当夫妻双方模仿彼此的生活习惯时，婚姻就会有益于身体健康。杨波翰大学的研究者对4746对已婚夫妻进行调查，发现夫妻双方是彼此的健康镜子：一个男人50岁出头健康状况良好时，他妻子身体不健康或较差的可能性就小。但是如果这个男人的健康状况较差，他的妻子身体不健康或较差的可能性就会增大。为什么呢?这是因为夫妻双方生活在相同的环境中，饮食，运动，精神压力相同。除此以外。他们还共同分担情感压力。

Healthy living is a win-win choice for married couples. You not only improve

your individual health and longevity, you also create wonderful opportunities to
do things together.

健康的生活状态对已婚夫妻来说是一个双赢的选择。你不仅可以改善自己的身体状况和寿命，还可以创造俩人独处的美妙机会。

Read on for the eight ways you can use your relationship to give your
physical well-being a big boost.

阅读下面8种通过婚姻生活来强身健体的方法。

1. Work Out Together 一起运动

Kimberly and Gary Jordan of Spartanburg, South Carolina, find time for a
daily three-mile walk in their neighborhood. They unwind, catch up with each
other, and burn nearly 300 calories each per outing. “It’s such a blessing,
having time to talk and walk together outdoors and unwind,” Kimberly says.
Another often-overlooked couple’s workout you shouldn’t miss: Sex. Making love
gets the heart pumping and burns about 50 calories (hey, it’s not a marathon,
but it will burn off an Oreo!). But that’s not all. Fun in bed triggers the
release of feel-good endorphins, natural opiates, and the cuddle hormone
oxytocin. It increases blood flow to the brain, boosts immunity (according to
some studies), and improves mental health.

美国斯帕坦堡市的Kimberly and GaryJordan每天都会抽时间在自己家附近行走3英里。他们进行放松，互相追赶，期间每次会消耗300卡路里热量。Kimberly说：“真的很庆幸能有时间一起去户外说说话，做做运动来放松一下。另外一种被夫妻忽视的运动也不应该被错过：性生活。做爱会使心跳加速并燃烧约50卡路里热量(嗨，它不是马拉松，但它会燃烧脂肪哦)。还有，在被窝里嬉戏会释放出让人好心情的脑内啡，天然鸦片剂和荷尔蒙激素。它还会增加大脑内的血流量，提高免疫力并有助于心理健康。

2. Lose Weight Together 一起减肥

  

Ed and Sylvia Robertson recently completed a year’s membership in Weight

Watchers and shed a combined 112 pounds. “One of the goals we kept setting for
ourselves was better health and more exercise, but we just kept flopping at it,”
Sylvia says. “We needed a program we could do together. We were also concerned
about prediabetes.” Adds Ed, “We’ve had that gradual middle-aged creep. Now,
we’re skinny again! I went from a size 49 waist to a 32! We said to ourselves
that our health is important, that our bodies are worth all this effort to eat
right and get more exercise.”

Ed and SylviaRobertson最近结束了在减肥中心为期一年的减肥运动，成功减重112磅。Sylvia说：“我们为自己设定的目标之一就是更加健康，更多运动，但是我们总是自己拖后腿。”Adds补充道：“我们需要的是一个我们可以一起参加的计划。“我们也很担心糖尿病。我们已经经历了中年蠕变，现在我们又变的纤瘦了!我的腰围从4尺9变到3尺2。我们告诉自己，健康很重要，为了有个好身体，正确饮食和多做运动都是值得的。

3. Eat Like a Woman... 像女人一样吃东西

  

Men reap nutritional benefits when they marry, while women’s diets slide after they say “I do,” concluded a recent review of 23 studies on the health consequences of coupledom. “A man’s diet tends to become healthier when he starts cohabiting with a female partner, and her influence has a long-term positive impact. In contrast, women eat more unhealthy foods and tend to put on weight when they move in with a male partner,” says lead researcher Amelia Lake, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Newcastle University’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Great Britain. An Australian study of 3,000 couples found that men ate more fat, salt, and sugar before moving in with a partner and less afterward—as women took over more of the grocery shopping and food prep. Meanwhile, women’s
intakes of fat and calories went up, as did their weights.

男人们婚后饮食会变得更加营养和丰富，而女人们的饮食质量自她们说完那句“我愿意“后就开始下降，近来一项关于同居后健康状况的研究如是定论。纽卡斯尔大学人类营养学研究中心的AmeliaLake博士说：“当一个男人开始和恋人同居时，他的饮食就会变得更健康，她的影响会对他产生长期的积极影响。相反，当女人搬来和恋人同居时，她们就会吃下更多的非健康食物并开始发胖。”还有一项研究表明男人们在与恋人同居前吃下很多脂肪，盐和糖，而同居后就会减少摄入这些不利于健康的食物;而女人们同居后则会经常去超市购买食物，同时摄取更多的脂肪和热量，而体重也会随之升高。

Other research cited by Dr. Lake has found that by her 10th anniversary, a
married woman is likely to have put on 19 pounds. Bottom line? Women: Follow
your healthy food instincts. Men: Follow her lead.

Lake博士的其他研究还表明，女人们在结婚十周年时体重很可能会增加19磅。总之，女人，跟着健康饮食的直觉走。男人，跟着女人走。

4. Exercise Like a Man 像男人一样运动

  

A new University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences study of 3,075 women and men ages 70 to 79 found that highly active men were three times more likely to have highly active wives. If your guy golfs, plays tennis, runs, walks, is in a basketball league, or enjoys other physical activities, go along. Play or participate if you can, or use the time to follow your own exercise routine.

一项调查研究表明运动型男士拥有运动型妻子的可能性要比非运动男士多3倍以上。如果你喜欢打高尔夫，打网球，跑步，竞走或者其他运动，那就继续。如果不喜欢，也可自己进行运动训练。

5. Argue Amicably—or Practice Reducing Stress 友善地争吵或者练习减压

A growing stack of research links unhappy marriages with unfortunate health

consequences. A study of 105 middle-aged British civil service workers found
that women and men with more marital worries had higher levels of the stress
hormone cortisol as well as higher levels of stress and high blood pressure—factors that raise risk for heart attack and stroke. Marital tensions have also been connected with depression, more gum disease, and higher risk for stomach ulcers.

越来越多的研究表明不幸的婚姻与不健康的身体状况有关。研究表明对于婚姻关系紧张的夫妻来说，他们的压力荷尔蒙皮质醇水平更高，压力更大，血压也更高，而高血压会引起心脏病发作和中风。婚姻关系紧张还会使人心情沮丧，牙龈疼痛和胃溃疡发作。

6. Take a Vacation 一起度假

  

University of Pittsburgh psychiatry researchers who tracked the health of 12,000 men with heart problems for nine years found that guys who took annual vacations had a lower risk of death than those who skipped these much-needed
breaks. Vacations may protect health by cutting stress, by putting you in a relaxing setting with family and friends, and by giving you an opportunity to
get more exercise.

有研究者对12000名心脏有问题的男人进行了为期9年的健康追踪，发现这些每年度假的男人发生心脏病突发致死的风险要比那些不度假人低。度假可以帮助你减压，使你与家人和朋友一起放松并提供给你多运动的机会，这样就会有助于身体健康。

7. Take Responsibility for Your Health 对你的健康负责

  

Traditionally, a stay-at-home wife guarded marital health by cooking healthy

meals and planning stress-relieving, mood-boosting activities. She probably also
nagged her guy to eat his broccoli, go to bed earlier, get more sleep, and take
his vitamins. An intriguing University of Chicago study found that in two-career
couples, a husband’s odds for good health drop 25 percent if his wife works
full-time. The moral? Husbands and wives should take charge of their health，
notes lead study author Ross Stolzenberg, Ph.D. Working as a team yields better
results than designating one partner as head coach and nag.

通常，主妇们会通过烹制健康的食物和制定减压激进活动来维持健康。她会唠叨她的男人吃下西兰花，早点上床睡觉，服用维他命。一项有趣的调查发现，在双职工家庭，如果妻子全职工作，丈夫身体健康的几率下降25%。专家提醒，丈夫和妻子都应该对自己的健康负责。两个人一起合作要比指定任何一方为教练所产生的效果好得多。

8. Learn All You Can 多学习

Healthy living can seem like a moving target: One day fat’s all bad; the next, it’s a miracle weight-loss food. One day, walking fast is all the rage;the next, a slow routine is touted by yet another expert as the best way to burn fat. What’s right? The answer: It usually doesn’t matter. The basics of healthy living are undeniable: getting up and moving most days for 30 minutes or more; eating modest portions at meals; choosing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meat as your primary foods; having a positive attitude; getting a good night’s sleep; taking a multivitamin. This is simple, proven wisdom that alone can transform your health—and if you learn about it with a partner, you're more likely to take action.

健康生活的标准似乎总是在变化：今天脂肪是被人厌弃的东西，明天它就是增肥的神奇之物。今天竞走很流行，明天专家就会吹捧慢走是燃烧脂肪的最好方式。哪个是正确的呢?答案是：是哪个都无关紧要。健康生活的基本要素总是不可否认的：经常早起运动30分钟左右，饭量适中，主食多吃水果蔬菜谷物和瘦肉，心态积极，睡眠良好，摄入多维片。其实很简单，那就是至理名言总可以改善你的健康状况。如果你和爱人一起学习，你就会言出即行。